Bandshell at Denver's City Park, built almost 100 years ago, destroyed in overnight fire

The bandshell at Denver's City Park was destroyed in an overnight fire, according to Denver fire officials and a nonprofit that uses the bandshell.

City Park Jazz, which hosts jazz concerts every week over the summer at the bandshell, said in a statement Thursday that the structure is a "total loss."

City Park Jazz said the fire happened around 2:30 a.m. and a Denver Fire Department spokesperson said they got a call around 2:40 a.m. By the time firefighters arrived, the mostly wooden structure was entirely engulfed in flames, DFD said.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire and don't yet have any preliminary conclusions, but said a Denver Zoo security guard was the initial 911 caller.

City Park Jazz says it's in talks with the city and exploring options for its 2026 season, including mobile stage setups, power needs, and other considerations. The organization is seeking donations to assist. The organization goes on to say its 40th anniversary season will still go on, with this year's program to include artists such as DJ Williams Band, the Spicy Pickles, and Hazel Miller. The City Park Jazz Summer Concert Series was started over 130 years ago, but the current iteration of the concert series began in 1986, according to the organization.

Sarah Hansen lives near the park and often walks around the lake. On Thursday, she saw the bandshell from a distance and thought it looked burned.

"I was like, 'did something happen?'" Hansen said, but as she approached, she saw the extent of the damage. "I was like, 'no way!' and as I got closer, I could smell it and saw that it had been burned up to a crisp."

Hansen described the gazebo as a "staple" at the park, where people often take photos in front of or under it for weddings or proms, for example. She's never seen any vandalism or similar issues aside from some rare graffiti, which usually gets cleaned up in short order.

"It's sad to see it," she said. "It's lots of fun, so yeah, I hope they can do something. Maybe it's a new opportunity to build something new."

Musician Chris Daniels knows all about the fun the gazebo can bring. He's been playing the City Park Jazz Festival every other year since they begame 40 years ago. He says even though it was an old and small stage, the experience couldn't be matched.

"It's just ... magic. You get people who come up and dance up all along in front of the stage, and then it goes -- it wraps all the way around the lake," he said.

He was a longtime Park Hill resident and he says that the gazebo and the festival helped turn the area around.

"People really grew to get the feeling that this music helped them as a community," he said. "Take back the park and say, this is this is ours."

Daniels says he's willing to do a fundraiser to get the money to build something new for the park.